Île-aux-Moines (; ''Enizenac'h'' in

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

; the name means ''island of the monks'') is a commune in the

Morbihan The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...

department in the region of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is the largest island in the

Gulf of Morbihan The Gulf of Morbihan (, ; ) is a natural harbour on the coast of the departments of France, department of Morbihan in southern Brittany, France. Its English name is taken from the French language, French version, ''le golfe du Morbihan'', t ...

. It is one of two island communes of the Gulf, the other being

Île-d'Arz Île-d'Arz (; , ) is an archipelago of nine islands and a commune in the Morbihan department, Brittany, northwestern France, only to the southwest of Vannes. It is located in the Gulf of Morbihan. Île d'Arz and Île-aux-Moines are the only ...

Geography

Île-aux-Moines lies in the

. It is by , with an area of 3.1 square kilometres. It is in the shape of a cross and nowhere on the island lies further than 450 metres from the water. Access from the mainland is possible from Larmor-Baden or Port-Blanc.

History

Île-aux-Moines has been inhabited since the Neolithic period, as attested by the

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s and other relics. In 854, the then king of

Erispoe Erispoe (; ; died 2 or 12 November 857) was Duke of Brittany from 851 to his death. After the death of his father Nominoe, he led a successful military campaign against the Franks, culminating in his victory at the Battle of Jengland. He is subse ...

, gave a donation to the Abbey of Saint-Conwoïon in

Redon Redon (; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Redon borders the Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique departments. It is situated at the junction of ...

, created by his father

Nominoe Nominoe or Nomenoe (; ; 763, 7 March 851) was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Bretons, Breton ''pater patriae'' and to Breton nationalism, Breton nationalists he is known as ' ("father of the country"). Or ...

. This became storage space of the abbey. After the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

invasions of the 10th century. the island was handed back to the parish of

Arradon Arradon (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in the Brittany region in northwestern France. Population The inhabitants of Arradon are known as ''Arradonnais''. Map See also *Communes of the Morbihan department The followin ...

. In 1453, it was given the status of parish. In 1792 it became a commune in its own right.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Île-aux-Moines are called ''Ilois''.

Monuments

There are many

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

ic relics on the south side: * The

cromlech A cromlech (sometimes also spelled "cromleh" or "cromlêh"; cf Welsh ''crom'', "bent"; ''llech'', "slate") is a megalithic construction made of large stone blocks. The word applies to two different megalithic forms in English, the first being a ...

of Kergonan, in the middle of the island, with a radius of more than 70 metres, is one of Europe's biggest. * The dolmen of Penhap, 5 kilometres from the main town, is the most well-conserved on the island. * Crucifices can be found at Trec'h, Brouel and Le Nioul, as well as on Kerno. *The St Michel Chapel

References

External links

Official websitePhotos, Guided Tours, Ancient Postcards, Decorated Mailboxes, etc...
* Communes of Morbihan Islands of Brittany Populated coastal places in Brittany {{Morbihan-geo-stub